At 17, Phunsog made his first journey to Zanskar via the route known as Junglam to purchase barley and peas in exchange for wool from Kharnak. Junglam, one of the oldest treks connecting Changthang to Zanskar, which lies to its south, and to the Markha Valley in the east, is renowned for its difficulty. This journey, taken entirely on foot, occurred just before Losar, the Ladakhi New Year. The path from his temporary nomadic home in Dat, Kharnak, to Zanskar was arduous, passing through Plingsa, Ruburang, Tilit Sumdo, Kharnak Sumdo, Wangchuk Chenmo, and numerous high-altitude pastoral areas known as Rongs. Phunstog and the other nomads believed they had to cross “Chu Gya na Gyat,” or 108 rivers, between Dat and Zangla in Zanskar, often barefoot while enduring the harsh cold.
It was during one of these journeys that salt was re-discovered in Tsokar Lake, prompting the nomads to carry both salt and Bal for trade. The salt was transported in twin bags, known as Lugals, carried on the backs of sheep. The journey to Zangla from Dat with salt-laden sheep took seven days. The Kharnak nomads waited until the 8th or 9th month of the year, which aligned with the harvest time in Zanskar. Trading before this time wouldn’t make sense, as the Zanskar people would not have surplus wheat to exchange. Upon arrival at Zangla, the nomads split into groups called Dang, each consisting of 5-6 members, led by experienced Tsongpa (businessmen) and a Lukzee (shepherd). Each group managed approximately 300 sheep. While some groups stayed in Zangla, others continued to places like Tsatar, Shillinghit, and Tongde.
The Kharnak nomads had built strong trade relationships in Zanskar, particularly in villages around a place called Kumik Marthang, which they referred to as Chuta. There, they camped and visited nearby villages to trade wool and Pheri (used carpets) from Kharnak for barley and peas. According to Phunsog, as supplies of barley in the Chuta/Marthang region were insufficient to fill all the Lugals, the nomads crossed the Lungnak River (also known as the Tsarap) to access larger supplies in areas like Pipiting and Padum. Since the sheep could not cross the rivers, they transferred the Lugals onto horses. The nomads would then cross the Stod River to trade in Karsha. While the horses returned to Marthang the same day, the nomads often slept in the open, enduring the snowfall.
The Zanskari people, who lacked wood for fuel, frequently crossed the Lungnak River to collect Rilmang-goat dung from the nomads for heating purposes. The Zanskaris had small temporary houses in Marthang. In the evenings, they would emerge from their homes to socialize and celebrate with the nomads, creating a vibrant atmosphere. Phunsog Angchuk also participated in the butter trade, a highly valuable commodity at the time. He bartered butter in equal quantities with salt. One of the most profitable trades involved selling the skins of Tseru Nakpo (black calves). The skin was especially prized by Zanskari women for crafting Nilen, a headpiece worn with the traditional Perak.
While the Zunglam was a popular trek for the Changpa traders from Kharnak, according to Angchuk, the nomads from the Rupsho region, located southeast of Dat in Kharnak, often took the path through the Lingti River-Chumik Marpo, further south near Serchu in Himachal Pradesh. Some nomads also traveled via the Marang La Pass. These routes were typically chosen based on existing trading partnerships. While the nomads from Kharnak had closer relationships with the people of central Zanskar, those from Rupsho maintained strong ties with the communities of eastern Zanskar. Both groups selected their routes according to their established associations, making it easier for the Changpas from the Rupsho area to enter Zanskar from the eastern side rather than using the Zunglam trek. Typically, the nomads stayed in Zanskar for about 10 days, depending on how long it took to fill their Lugals with barley or peas. Once all the Lugals were filled the Changpa nomads would begin their return journey to Kharnak to arrive in time for Losar.
It has been over 35 years since Phunsog Angchuk made his last traditional foot journey for trade. The last such journey occurred more than three decades ago, when Phunsog, along with fellow traders Meme Tsering Tundup, Gyatso, and Tsering Tashi, took eight horses to Zanskar to purchase butter. They returned with 20 battis (1 batti =2 kgs), which they later sold for twice the price in Leh. This marked the beginning of the end of an era in the traditional trade routes between Kharnak and Zanskar.
Dorjey Angchuk
According to Dorjey Angchuk when salt was first discovered in Tsokar lake to the east of Kharnak region in the last quarter of the 20th century, there was significant tension over its distribution between the Kharnak nomads and those living in villages around Tsokar. The Kharnak nomads, unable to access the salt directly, initially had to resort to Skuches-stealing it. This led to conflicts until both sides came to a Nangdik or a mutual agreement. Under the terms of the Nangdik, the Kharnak people were granted certain rights. They were allowed to bring their sheep to graze in the Tsokar area, although they could not set up permanent camps. More importantly, they were entitled to a share of the salt which the Tsokar villagers would deliver loaded onto their sheep, in the 5th month of the Ladakhi calendar. The Kharnak nomads would measure this salt in tiffins, a local unit of measurement equal to one batti or approximately 2 kilograms. The Kharnak nomads would keep a portion of the salt for their own use and then trade the rest in Zanskar. The visit to Zanskar would be around the 8th or the 9th month so as to match with the harvest season in Zanskar when the natives would have surplus barley to trade for the salt.
Dorjey Angchuk, also recalls that Zanskar had an abundance of butter, primarily because the Zanskaris grazed their livestock, particularly their zhos (a type of yak-cattle hybrid), in the Rangdum region, which was rich in grass. As per tradition, the Khanrnak nomads used a special scale called Nyaga, but the Zanskaris, not fully trusting this method, used their own tin-can-like device called a Pari to calibrate the measurement. One Pari was equal to 2 pao, and 4 Paris made one batti.
Beyond trading salt for wheat and butter, the Kharnak nomads also sold livestock to Muslim traders from Leh, whom Dorjey still remembers fondly. These traders, such as Kadir, Dula, Rasheed, and Baba Siddique, were frequent buyers of livestock from the Changthang region.
